Former Australia all-rounder Greg Matthews has an interesting suggestion for Virat Kohli on dealing with Australian sledging.
Matthews told The Hindu , “He (Kohli) should tell them back, ‘Yes, I am a spoilt brat, and I have a big house, and I drive a Ferrari, and I have a great insurance. What’s your problem?’ That will put the Aussies back.”
The former off-spinner and left-handed batsman, said, “Instead, he (Kohli) is talking about it at press conferences, it’s bothering him and will eventually affect his game.
Focus on the game“You have to let go and focus on your game. I think what’s said on the ground should stay on the ground.”
The 55-year-old Matthews represented Australia in 33 Tests in the ’80s and early ’90s, scoring 1,849 runs and picking up 61 wickets.
His First-Class record as a left-handed batsman and an off-spinner — 8,872 runs and 516 wickets from 190 matches — makes him among the most successful cricketers from New South Wales, a powerhouse in Australia’s tough Sheffield Shield.
Bad boy reputationIn his playing days, Matthews had the reputation of being Australia’s ‘bad boy’.
He has no regrets. “I was abused with all kinds of words, the kind of stuff you cannot imagine or publish.
“In my time, every team in world cricket, apart from the West Indies, sledged.
“I took it in my stride... and I gave it back. But I never carried it with me when I left the field.”
Matthews, who played a key role for Australia in the tied Test in Madras (1986) with a 10-wicket match haul, revealed, “It was a tense game, and I was called names by a section of the crowd, I remember.
“I also gave Chandrakant Pandit, who had hit me over mid-on earlier, a proper send-off, going almost half way back to the pavilion with him.
“Wicketkeeper Tim Zoehrer asked me, ‘What’s the matter, you just got him out. But I wanted to give him (Pandit) a send-off.”
The former all-rounder said he crossed the line only once in Pakistan in the 1983 Test at the MCG.
“I went to the Pakistani dressing room in the evening. Imran Khan opened the door and I said to him, “I am sorry about that,” and guess what Imran’s answer was. He said, “Don’t worry, you said the right thing.”
Matthews claimed he could easily get his former New South Wales teammate Steve Waugh worked up. “I’ve shared rooms with him. I knew every button in his body and knew exactly what to say to him. I was amazed when others told me Steve was unflappable on the field.”
The former all-rounder revealed he once got Merv Hughes to bowl 11 successive bouncers at him in a domestic match.
“After every ball, I would run up to Merv and say things to him like, ‘You know Merv, I like your friendly moustache!’ He would run in angrily and bounce at me again.
Bouncers rarely get you out“The bouncer rarely gets you out and it allowed me to play him more easily. I wanted him to do just that.”
When Matthews talks, there is rarely a dull moment. Perhaps, there is a message in words to the Indians.
